HARTFORD, Conn. - Senior RHP Jordan Stephan (South Orange, N.J.) tossed a four-hitter with seven strikeouts in game one and junior 3B Michaela Russell (Boston, Mass.) went 3-for-4 with two runs, a double, an RBI, and a stolen base in the game two to lead the Trinity College Bantams to a 2/11-1/6 doubleheader sweep over the Mitchell College Mariners in softball action this afternoon.  Trinity extends its winning streak to five games and improves to 10-6, while the Mariners drop to 10-8 and see their six-game winning streak come to an end.  Trinity heads to New England Small College Athletic Conference (NESCAC) East Division rival Bowdoin this weekend for a three-game series on Friday and Saturday.  Mitchell hosts Coast Guard for two games next Tuesday.

Trinity left the Mariners on the field in the opener when rookie Erin Steed (Orland Park, Ill.) single home sophomore Gianna Tito (East Hanover, N.J.) for the game-winning run with none out in the bottom of the seventh inning.  The Bantams had scored the game's first run in the first inning when first-year SS Taylor Mikolajczak (John's Creek, Ga.) walked and eventually came home on a wild pitch.  Stephan and Mitchell sophomore hurler Katelyn Lipsky were both rarely threatened over the next five frames, but first-year C Brooke Whitmarsh (Portsmouth, R.I.) belted a solo homer to lead off the top of the seventh inning and tie the game at 1-1. Stephan retired the next three Mariners, including two on called third strikes, and Tito started the home half of the seventh with a double.  Sophomore 1B Kennedy Rogers (Pomona, Calif.) followed with a single that pushed Tito to third and Steed delivered the clincher.  Mikolajczak finished 2-for-2 with a run, a walk, and three stolen bases for the Trinity offense in the first game, while Whitmarsh was 2-for-3 for Mitchell.

The team smacked 13 hits apiece in the second game, but Trinity sophomore starter Erin Girard (Bristol, Conn.) settled down after yielding two runs in the each of the first two innings to finish her day with three scoreless frames and collect her first career victory.  The Trinity offense tied the game at 4-4 after two full innings, as Rogers and Russell had RBI singles and Steed belted an RBI double for three of the four runs in the bottom of the second.  The Bantams took a 6-4 lead with two more runs in the fourth inning thanks to singles by senior Maura Keary (Fairfield, Conn.) and Russell and a two-out, two-run hit by Mikolajczak.  Steed doubled again in the fifth to account one of two more Bantam runs, while senior Dominique Bolduc (Laconia, N.H.) poked a double down the right field line and Tito singled Bolduc home to give Trinity an 11-4 lead after six innings.  Sophomore lefty Maddie Recker (Sayville, N.Y.) pitched the last two innings for the Bantams, Emily Reynolds took the loss for Mitchell.  Rookie SS Gemma Landry was 3-for-3 for the Mariners.